An organization that studies great white sharks is enjoying some welcome attention. One of the creatures they've been monitoring has started gaining a loyal social media following. @MaryLeeShark is the fake Twitter handle for a very real, nearly 3,500-pound great white. The shark's movements can be tracked online and in real time.

She's drawn over 44,000 followers. She provides playful updates and witty replies. All as the real life shark cruises up and down the East Coast.

"Oh heyyyyy.... you're right by my house, come by for a nightcap?" invited one Twitter commenter. The shark had just popped up off the coast of Long Island, New York.

The shark was tagged off the coast of Cape Cod. It is among hundreds of sharks that OCEARCH has tagged and tracked. The organization began to tag them in 2007. OCEARCH is an organization based in Utah.

The fake Twitter handle isn't affiliated with OCEARCH (pronounced Oh-Search). But OCEARCH expedition leader Chris Fischer says the organization appreciates the attention. He named Mary Lee after his mother.

"They're really clever. They really like sharks and they're on a mission. So we're just kind of rolling with it," he said. He was in Australia on the organization's latest expedition.

OCEARCH has even jumped on the bandwagon. It launched "official" Twitter handles for two other sharks. They are being monitored off the East Coast. @Shark_Katharine and @RockStarLydia have sizable followings of their own.

The person behind the @MaryLeeShark account did surface when The Associated Press sent a Twitter message. The account's operator identified themselves only as a daily newspaper reporter. He or she lives on the East Coast. The account operator expressed pleasant surprise at the attention and OCEARCH's support.

"The recent explosion of followers has been a lot of fun. But also like a second job. I do everything manually. No robo tweets," the account owner wrote. "The best part is that (@MaryLeeShark) plays a role in helping to replace fear with facts by retweeting and commenting on @OCEARCH tweets. I (try) to be respectful of the important work OCEARCH does. And have fun at the same time."

OCEARCH's multi-year project uses GPS trackers. They are affixed to the shark's dorsal fin. The trackers post real time data on dozens of great whites. They can be found across the globe. Mary Lee was hanging out near Ocean City, Maryland on May 17, for example. The goal is to better understand the shark's life cycle. And to encourage conservation. The great white shark is an endangered ocean predator.

Shark researchers say the work is important. There's still a lot unknown about the behavior of mature white sharks. The massive beasts are extremely difficult to tag with modern GPS trackers.

OCEARCH is one of the few outfits with the technology, skill and resources for the job. The organization operates largely on corporate funding. Its crew consists of professional fisherman-turned-ocean explorers.

"This gives us a much better understanding of the movement patterns of these animals through days, months and years," says Robert Hueter. He is director of the Center for Shark Research. It is located at Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium. It is in Sarasota, Florida.

Gregory Skomal is a marine biologist. He heads the Massachusetts Shark Research Program. He says the research is of particular interest along the densely populated East Coast. That's where great whites are being spotted with greater frequency.

The sharks are increasingly drawn to places like Cape Cod and its surrounding islands. Cape Cod is part of Massachusetts. The seaside communities are forever linked with the movie "Jaws. The increase in sharks is because seal populations have soared.

"Basically the cafe is open and the customers are arriving," Skomal said. "Ten or fifteen years ago, you might have had three to four sightings of white sharks off the coast of Massachusetts a year. Now we're getting well over 30 or 40."

The researchers are reluctant to draw quick conclusions about great white behavior. That is because only a few East Coast great whites are being tracked by OCEARCH.

Some, like Mary Lee, have kept relatively close to the shore. That's to the delight and alarm of Twitter followers. Others have ventured far into the Atlantic.

Shark fans say they've found the tongue-in-cheek tweets fun and informative. Many hope the attention helps overcome fears and misconceptions about the powerful creatures.

"People need to think about them not so much as a predator and something to be feared, but more as something that needs to be protected," said Teri Drake-Floyd. She is an Athens, Georgia resident. She recently started following @MaryLeeShark. "The ocean is their home, not ours. And so it's kind of our responsibility to look out for them."

Critical thinking challenge: Why is it important to replace fears about sharks with facts?

Why do Mary Lee likes sharks. They are ugly, scary, unfriendly, and sometimes they sould kill people. If I do twitter I would ask a lot of questions. But how do you put GPS on the shark. It will not be easy to put it.

Critical thinking challenge: Why is it important to replace fears about sharks with facts?Answer: So you could change your mind.

HannahB-Kut

5/25/2015 - 10:33 p.m.

I think its very interesting that people are following this twitter page, most people own social media to communicate with other people, honestly there is many reasons why people own social media.

some of the vocabulary was hard to understand, at first i was confused about "ocearch" but i went into further research and went onto the website. it was very cool to see peoples comments and the sharks that are along the cost of most areas. for someone to put together this twitter page should be very proud of themselves.

this is one of my by far favorite topic from tween tribune.

-hannah bennett

jacob4-Bla

6/05/2015 - 11:16 a.m.

Wow I did not know that a shark could be that popular! that is cool and it would seem fun talking to a Great White Shark.

John0724-YYCA

6/17/2015 - 06:16 p.m.

Well I think that Sharks are not scary as we think to because actually sharks don't attack us unless they smell blood because there sight is really horrible so all you have to do is stay calm instead of going all crazy and start to kill the shark because then they will fight back and yo could be injured or worse get killed so my opinion is to stay calm. I believe that Mary Lee is right about sharks.